Mlanjeni Site Visit
Women’s Institute for Leadership Development yesterday took part in a site- tour of residential stands earmarked for women in Umzingwane District. The tour was arranged by Mlanjeni Housing Corporative following a position paper on women’s access to housing submitted by women to Umzingwane Rural District Council Housing Department.
In response, URDC engaged Mlanjeni Housing Corporative to revise the pricing, service and allocate stands targeting marginalized residents with priority being given to women.
The site tour revealed that the cooperative was allocated a total of 230 stands and allocated 105 stands to women. It was further revealed that 75% of the women have fully paid for the stands while the 25% are still in the process of settling their payment.
Below are some of the issues raised by women who have stands:
- Women do not have access to readily available water for them to build their houses. Water is sold to them at USD3.00 per drum or USD10.00 for three drums. This amount is beyond the reach of many women
- Women who were interviewed requested that council extends the grace period beyond the current four years in order to take into account the current economic challenges which have rendered building materials beyond the reach of many.
- Women requested that council allows them to begin building their houses while paying for their stands.